Medion Akoya E3211 review

That processor choice makes it easier to eke out the hours from the battery. The Medion's 4,300mAh cell gave us a handy 6hrs 16mins of light usage, and 2hrs 40mins when pushed hard. That second figure obviously has a lot to do with the CPU's inability to actually push that hard at all, but if you need to run demanding applications you shouldn't be looking at a laptop like this anyway.

The keys are large and well laid out, even if the travel is a little long for our liking, and the grainy touchpad is responsive. The mouse buttons are a little too light, so sometimes you'll click twice, but by and large it's a comfortable laptop. That's just as well, as the styling is plain to say the least. The black lid is about as snazzy as the Akoya gets, with the dull grey interior crying out for a dash of polish. Build quality is reasonable, with just a bit of bend in the lid and some flex in the base, but there's nothing to get too worried about.

There's little excitement elsewhere either, with the usual VGA port and Gigabit Ethernet ports, joined by three USB ports, an ExpressCard/34 slot and a memory card reader for SD, Memory Stick and MMC formats. The hinged screen means there's no more room on the rear, so that's your lot. The only other inclusion is a 1.3mp webcam in the screen bezel.

So you're not getting a huge amount in terms of features, but that's not the point. What you are getting is a very portable laptop that's a good deal more usable than a netbook. The only decision to make is whether you'd pay a significant premium for that privilege. The jump in performance is significant but not exactly stunning, and the added weight means we're not sure too many netbook fans will be converted.

Where the Medion Akoya E3211 does succeed is in offering an affordable alternative to the vastly dearer ultraportables from the likes of Sony. At this price you'll never get anything to match the power or style of a VAIO, but if you can put up with a much weaker, more pedestrian version to save yourself a packet, the Akoya is worth checking out.

Author: David Bayon